Is the term RPG applied too loosely

I personally feel the term RPG is misused to describe a lot of games. I personally feel that to put the tag RPG on a game you need choices that clearly effect game play and the story line depending on the choices you make. I see quite a few games given the tag RPG simply because your character uses swords and magic or you might have some level of customization as your character levels up. If the story line is linear it is not a RPG for example final fantasy fits this bill perfectly but i see it is often tagged as a RPG. Mass Effect In my opinion if you liked the game or not does fit the bill of a RPG since the choices you do make clearly define your character and your adventure also the fact that the choices you make have a effect on the other games in the series.

This is something that has slightly irked me for awhile since I am admittedly a DnD geek so my opinions might differ from others.
I am curious to see what other members of the community feel about this subject.

That defines the rpg genre, compared to an adventure game, where you do not level up. Is it a very loose description? Yes, but it's not going to change anytime soon, because there really is no body that attempts to regulate video game standards (lol).

Edit: If RPG were to apply exclusively to games where your decisions make a significant change to the overall story and progression of the game, what would you name the genre of games where you level up, but do not make these decisions?

2nd edit: I think it comes down to also that videos are extremely varied in how they are played, so whereas a movie that has zombies could be called horror, then you add some comedy and it is a horror comedy, you can't keep adding tags like that to video games. If you make resident evil a first person shooter, it's no longer a survival horror, it would just be an fps. Hell, re5 was very little in the way of survival or horror, but it is still called a survival horror. A revamp of the labels of video games to reflect the current generation would be nice, but like I said, there is no body that attempts to accomplish this, and no one would recognize a small blogs work towards sorting the madness.

Last edited by Mr_Bojangles; 2011-01-28 at 03:31 AM.

But your eyes are drawn of charcoal they're black they're so cold they're so imperfect because they see a sleeping world where waking isn't worth it

by the definition you give of RPG the original RPGs from the 80s arent RPGs. Mass Effect is more an action/adventure game with RPG elements. most games of today use some kind of RPG element even if it is simply a leveling system

I was just saying that if you were to take the above post as definitions for RPG, COD 7 and Halo: Reach would be RPGs.

Again, they are so loosely translated, that being an fps trumps a game having any other tag. Video games don't just keep adding tags like movies, they take whatever they have most of, and that is what it is. A game with 90% fps and 10% rpg is an fps, a movie with 90% romantic 10% comedy is a romantic comedy.

What tag would you propose to add to fps games where you gain rank in multiplayer?

Edit: I'm not saying the rules make sense, they are dated to when games were... shall we say simpler. If I'm wrong, and you can lay out the rules to tagging a games genre in a more logical fashion, I will go along with it.

2nd edit: I think this is a good topic, and the thread can go places, if people chip in on a better way to label games genres. Do you propose that only games where choices affect the story arc get the rpg tag? Then what do we tag games where you level up, but can not change the story? And how would a game like SC2 fit into it, where there are those like 3 story arcs where you get to choose? It's a very minor part of the game, but if we follow the movie style of adding tags, that would make sc2 an rts rpg

Last edited by Mr_Bojangles; 2011-01-28 at 03:41 AM.

But your eyes are drawn of charcoal they're black they're so cold they're so imperfect because they see a sleeping world where waking isn't worth it

Mass Effect is very much an RPG - it's the other way around - RPG w/ Action/Adventure.

From Wiki:

A role-playing game (RPG) is a broad family of games in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development.

Generally, in an RPG, you have to be able to actually converse with people to influence people/events, and be able to free travel to any location you want at any given time to further the story; which makes Mass Effect more of an RPG than WoW is. Which is why WoW falls under MMORPG because you can't exactly influence the world in an MMO because of the scale of the players around; nonetheless, all the events in WoW follow a narrative storyline - like an RPG. Annnnd of course, 'quests' for story development or monetary reward define elements of an RPG.

I know the above was a sarcastic remark, but you can't converse with the environment, do quests, or roam freely to different locations in CoD so that excludes it from RPG. ;D

Part of the problem imo is that if a game gets popular and fits a tag like survival horror or rpg others will use the tag rather loosely to market their product to try and piggyback on the success of the original title.

As to mr_bojangles 2nd edit i would propose the term Character Progression to describe the ability to customize your character or level them up.

I think you're just too strict in your definition of RPG. Basically if you follow a character through a game then it is an RPG. There are sub-genres within RPGs that are used to describe a game more accurately, such as wow being an MMORPG.

be able to free travel to any location you want at any given time to further the story

That would be the piece that I was missing.

---------- Post added 2011-01-27 at 11:11 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Blizark

I think you're just too strict in your definition of RPG. Basically if you follow a character through a game then it is an RPG. There are sub-genres within RPGs that are used to describe a game more accurately, such as wow being an MMORPG.

Following a character through a game: That narrows it down to 99.9% of all games. Portal is an rpg by that definition.

But your eyes are drawn of charcoal they're black they're so cold they're so imperfect because they see a sleeping world where waking isn't worth it

1) A customizable character. WoW, Mass Effect, The Elder Scrolls, and many other RPG's allow you to change the physical form of your character, to some extent. Gear is a part of this, but it's much more customizable than say Samus' power suit or Link's tunic. Generally, this will mean that your character will have a customizable name, as well as background, if you so choose. Games that follow the life of a named character (Legend of Zelda, Metroid, etc) aren't considered RPG's in this regard, since there's no customization of the character. Though Shepard from Mass Effect is a pre-determined character, you still have enough control over his or her customization that it's considered an RPG.

2) A relatively non-linear/sandbox structure. RPG's have many avenues of gameplay to explore, allowing for a much more immersive experience. Even Mass Effect 2, a fairly linear game, has this in the form of it's loyalty missions, which are like short stories within the larger novel that is the main storyline.

3) Choices. Whether it's morality, play style, or weaponry and armor, RPG's tend to have the most choices within the game, usually in the form of classes and specilizations. Don't take this to mean games like Modern Warfare are considered RPG's in this way. FPS games may contain a plethora of choices, but they focus primarily on PvP gameplay, which brings us to #4.

4) Focus on PvE gameplay. Most RPG's are single player, and when they can be multiplayer, they are cooperative (Take Fable, for example). The big exception are MMORPG's, who, because of their high cost have to please as many people as possible, do have PvP content. However, the primary storyline of these MMO's (at least WoW) is based within PvE content.

5) A story to tell. RPG games focus on the main character, and how that character affects the world around them, as well as how they end the primary conflict of the game. All games have a story, of course. That's how we get campaigns in FPS', or the plotlines of Adventure games. What sets an RPG story apart is how much story there actually is. RPG stories tend to be much more complex than another game's story. Look at Wowpedia. There's so much information there about the story alone, and so much background on the things that story mentions, it's mind-boggling. FPS and Adventure games tend to have a much more straight-forward story.